The impact of introducing alcohol-free beer options in bars and public houses on alcohol sales and revenue: A randomised crossover field trial

Aims: The study aimed to estimate the impact of introducing a draught alcohol-free beer, thereby increasing the relative availability of these products, on alcohol sales and monetary takings in bars and pubs in England.

Design: Randomised crossover field trial.

Setting: England.

Participants: Fourteen venues that did not previously sell draught alcohol-free beer.

Intervention and comparator: Venues completed two intervention periods and two control periods in a randomised order over 8 weeks. Intervention periods involved replacing one draught alcoholic beer with an alcohol-free beer. Control periods operated business as usual.

Measurements: The primary outcome was mean weekly volume (in litres) of draught alcoholic beer sold. The secondary outcome was mean weekly revenue [in GBP (£)] from all drinks. Analyses adjusted for randomised order, special events, season and busyness.

Findings: The adjusted mean difference in weekly sales of draught alcoholic beer was -20 L [95% confidence interval (CI) = -41 to +0.4], equivalent to a 4% reduction (95% CI = 8% reduction to 0.1% increase) in the volume of alcoholic draught beer sold when draught alcohol-free beer was available. Excluding venues that failed at least one fidelity check resulted in an adjusted mean difference of -29 L per week (95% CI = -53 to -5), equivalent to a 5% reduction (95% CI = 8% reduction to 0.8% reduction). The adjusted mean difference in weekly revenue was +61 GBP per week (95% CI = -328 to +450), equivalent to a 1% increase (95% CI = 5% decrease to 7% increase) when draught alcohol-free beer was available.

Conclusions: Introducing a draught alcohol-free beer in bars and pubs in England reduced the volume of draught alcoholic beer sold by 4% to 5%, with no evidence of the intervention impacting net revenue.